New found fighting spirit helps Ellis to third win
A YOUNG potter from Wiltshire found some fighting spirit he didn’t know he possessed to extend his lead on a regional snooker circuit.
Riley Ellis was forced to dig deep into his reserves to collect his third winner’s trophy of the season on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.
The 12-year-old from Clyffe Pypard takes a 25-point lead into the last two events following a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Chloe White (Havant) in the final of the eighth leg at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon.
“Chloe put up a tremendous battle which was full of brilliant safety and great matchplay,” said Ellis.
“I couldn’t afford to lose focus for even a minute. But remembering everything I’ve been working on for the last few months with my coach and in practice, I held on until the end.”
It looked like Ellis’s bid to claim the rankings title had suffered a setback when he lost his first match against Thomas Saunders (Braintree) in the event sponsored by Swindon-based Smarter Cue Sports.
But he bounced back to win his next three and qualified for the knockout in second place.
He then beat newcomer Oliver Cooper (Banstead) 2-0, despite being 30 points down in the second frame, and came back from 1-0 down to beat Ronnie Sullivan (Coulsdon) 2-1 in the semi-finals.
“I started out a bit tense today knowing it was going to be an important and hard day,” said Ellis.
“That first match made me re-focus and I went on to win all of my other group-stage games. I was then prepared to go and do battle.”
Ellis’s mum Jackie said: “The final was fantastic to watch. Both players were fabulous.”
But she added: “I wish he had shown a bit of that fighting spirit going to school the next day!”
White, 15, who is ranked number 45 on the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker circuit, had beaten Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford), appearing in only his second event, 2-1 in the last-four.
The ninth leg of ten is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, April 9.
For more information about Smarter Cue Sports, which supplies cue sport products to clubs and retailers, visit www.smarter-cuesports.co.uk.
BREAKS
Shane Kearns: 27, 22.
Chloe White: 24.
Riley Ellis: 21.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Thomas Saunders (Stepfield SC, Witham, Essex); 2nd, Riley Ellis (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, James Woodley (Nailsea Social Club); 4th, Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 5th, Will Forster (Mayfair, Gosport).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 2nd, Ronnie Sullivan (Frames, Coulsdon); 3rd, Arnie Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Kyle Carter (Jesters, Swindon); 5th, Viktor Balgariev (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Oliver Cooper (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 3rd, Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Oscar Livesey-Lodwick (Nailsea Social Club); 5th, O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Drayton 2 Saunders 0, Chloe White 2 Woodley 1, Sullivan 2 Kearns 1, Ellis 2 Cooper 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Chloe White 2 Drayton 1, Ellis 2 Sullivan 1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Ellis 2 Chloe White 0.
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)